Benjamin robinson



iirriteli gisten BENJAll'llN ROBlNSON,'OF BGSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 94,516, dated September 7, 1869; aatedated August 21,1869.

MQW-

HEROVED RAILWAY-BAEL SPLECE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and makina part of thesame,

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, BENJAMIN ROBINSON, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement 1 1n Railroad-Rails, of which the following is a full, ac-

curate, and complete description, suiiicient, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, to enable the invention to be carried intoeffect.

To make a iirm joint at the place where rails come together, so thatrolling stock will p( ss over the joint noisclessly and easily, toreduce the abrasion of the ends of the rails, allow of expansion to asuiiicieutdegrec, and at the same time reduce the cost ofrtracklaying,is the present desideratnm, and is my object in this invention.

The principal feature `of this joint is an arrangement of' projectionsand depressions upon the sides of a rail, bevelled so as to form alap-splice toward the end, the projections fitting into `the depressionsof the abutting rail, and the two abutting railsv bolted -together.

By reference to the drawings, the device can be understood more readily.

Three forms or variations are there shown, all involving the principleof the invention, and all showing the manner of carrying it out.

Figures i, 4. and 8, are top plans of a joint on my principle.

R and Rare, in each drawing, rails. The web of' these rails is shown indotted longitudinal lines. The example taken is a T-rail. The ends ofthese rails are so formed at the joint as to follow on top the lines x yy x, and the web of each rail is transferred from its centre to itsexterior. This is shown reference to the sections shown in Figures 2, 3,(i, 7,10, l1. The stiffness of the rail is thus preserved, and theT-rail assimilates the form of a half U-rail at the end.

In the rail, if of the form shown iu iig. l, a section taken at c o, orat tle centre olthe joint, shows ns the web of rail R crowded tothe leftin iig. 3, with a depression made in it, as shown at g h i, andl havingthe plan 7a Z lml n, of' lig. l.

The web of rail Ris crowded tothe right, at seen at o, fig. 3, and hasformed on ita hook, ofthe section g h t', which ts into the depressionin rail R.

Two bolts, p and q, fig. 1, fasten the rail together, the bolt-holes inIthe thin ends of the rails being so slotted as to allow expansion, andthe tongue or projection on rail R being shorter than the depression inrail R, any pressure on rail It will, with this form of tongue,(hooking) draw rail R closely up and make a close joint.

This device may be modified, as shomi in gs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, theprinciple involved boing retained.

A tongue and depression are formed on each rail R and R, the plan ofwhich, instead ol' being' a rectangle, is` a triangle, u' y z, z', theline z e being the medium line of the rail, and the projection being, inevery instance, toward the tip, the depression toward the butt of thebevel-splice.

vThe sections, figs. 6 and7, are similarly lettered to fig. 3.

lOn whichever rail weight is thrown, the other is drawn closely to it.

Tile secondary form, shown by figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, is readily convertedinto the tertiary forni, shown in figs. 8, 9, 10, 1l," simply byChanging the sectional shape of the tongue and depression y h i, figs.(i and 7, to

the sectional shape a l) c (l, of' figs. 10 and 11, and their groundplans from iv y z, Iu; y z, triangles, to rect-angles, like those iniig. 1*, L l in a.

, The bolt p,in both the secondary and tertiary forni, is put through atthe centre oi this joint, and but one bolt is required. The boltzfholein one rail requires, of course, to be slotted, to allow for expansion,and the locking tongues ,7c L ma, of fig. 8, must be shorter than thedepressions into which they fit, for the same reason.

In considering the principle of this rail, and the manner in which thesethree forms glide into each other, it is necessary, iirst, to notice thefact that the inclined planes y y', in case oi' the contraction of therail, would not slide along each other, and thus make a continuous rail,were there not Vsome contrivance by which they shall be brought togetherand held. This is furnished by the tongues g h i, ot' the primary andsecondary forms, with their downwardpointing inclined planes hookinginto the depressions g h i, of figs. 1 to 7. In the tertiary form, thiswould he effected by making the bolt-head rest on an inclined planesurrounding the -slot through which the bolt passes, said plane beingparallel to the joint-line y y.

There is another advantage in this form of rail. The mortises and tenonslocking sidewise across the dividing-line of the joint, frame the tworails into one continuous rail, supportevery part of it, and avoidbrooming, while the diagonal joint-line will nevel' allow a shock as thecarriages roll over the rail, because the Wheels always have a supportupon the rail on either side of the gap or opening.

As I am aware that railroad-joints have heretofore been made by notchingand lapping the ends ofthe rails, and notably in the device oi' James R.Hilliard, patented May 13, 1856, I do not intend to claim more than theparticular system shown, of' interior mortises and tenons, and speciallydisclaim a joint having a lateral lap only, or a lateral combined with avertical lap on planes parallel with the longitudinal axis, or the slopeoi' the vertically-lapping surii'ices toward the centre of the rail.

I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Parent-- l. The railroad-rail,formed at the end with a lateral bevel, as shown n: y y'x', withmortises and tenons on the bevelled side, when arranged tokeep theinclined planesy y' in Contact with each other7 by ineens ofcompensating inclined planes gh, substantielly :is describeq.

2. The railroadfmil, formed. at the end with a leteral bevel, when amortise or tenon, er both, are arranged upon the bevelled side, to lockwith a. correspending mortise or tenon, or both, in the abutting rail,substantially as described.

BENJA. ROBINSON. Witnesses:

Taos. WM. CLARKE,l C. J. BATEMAN.

